The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea - Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,86

asleep. It was a bit of a jolt, though, to see Brody looking so old and frail. His shoulders were so thin, his skin like gray parchment. Only moments ago, he’d been in her bed with a young, healthy, muscular body.

“Why is he not dressed?” Cahira demanded.

“He . . . he took off his clothes,” Maeve said. “He said it was too hot.”

Cahira snorted. “Of course it’s too hot. You closed the bed curtains.” She jerked them open. “Go fetch one of his shirts from the dressing room.”

“Yes, Mother.” Maeve ran into the dressing room, noting the tub still filled with water. Brody had used the buckets of water she’d left him. She brought a shirt of fine white linen back to the bed.

“Burien.” Cahira touched his shoulder.

He shook his head. “I’m fine,” he mumbled. “I just want to sleep.”

“Very well.” Cahira drew the covers up to his chin and left the shirt on a pillow next to him. “I’ll check on you later.” She strode toward the adjoining bedchamber, pausing by the Seer’s table, where Maeve had left a tray of food the night before. “He seems to be eating well.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Good.” Cahira walked into Maeve’s room. “If Kendric arrives today, I’ll arrange for a small party this evening. Hopefully, Burien will be rested enough to attend.”

“Yes, Mother.” Maeve groaned inwardly. She had no desire ever to meet the Chameleon, though it might be interesting to see what he actually looked like. The real problem would be Brody. Could he meet his archenemy without trying to kill him?

* * *

“Are you hungry?” Maeve tore up a piece of her bacon and set it on the table next to her tray.

She was alone in her bedchamber, eating breakfast, when the orange tabby crawled out from beneath her bed and approached her.

“Thank you for coming to the rescue,” she told the cat.

With a yip, the tabby jumped onto the chair next to her and nibbled at the bacon pieces.

“So you lived with the Seer for the last two years?”

The cat nodded and continued to eat.

Maeve added a spoonful of scrambled eggs to the cat’s breakfast. “And you’re Gabby’s brother, Gavin?”

The cat nodded again.

So he was a shifter, Maeve thought. Why wasn’t he shifting back to his human form so he could talk to her? “I know you’re trying to help Brody and me, but please be careful. All right?”

Gavin studied her a moment with intelligent eyes, then resumed eating his bacon and eggs.

After a few minutes, Ruth returned for the breakfast tray.

“Oh, there you are,” she greeted Gavin. “Are you ready to go back to your sister now?”

The cat purred in agreement.

Maeve sidled up close to Ruth and whispered, “Is he unable to shift back into his real self?”

With a sigh, Ruth nodded. “Her Majesty did this to him. She told Gabby her brother would never be normal again if she didn’t turn the iron coins into gold.”

“How awful.” Maeve cast a sympathetic look at the orange tabby. “But how could my mother make Gavin unable to shift?”

Ruth winced. “She cursed him. It’s one of her abilities as a witch.”

A trickle of unease slithered down Maeve’s spine. “My mother is a witch?”

“Aye.” Ruth nodded. “Some call her the Sea Witch.”

Maeve stepped back. Wasn’t that what Lobby had talked about? A sea witch who was powerful enough to destroy his boat and drown all his friends.

Ruth picked up the tray. “I’ll be going now. The seamstress will be here soon.” She strolled out the door with Gavin following her.

The guard glanced in at Maeve, then slammed the door shut.

Slowly, Maeve turned and walked into the Seer’s room. Brody was sound asleep, exhausted from all his flying the night before.

The unease inside her grew as her thoughts raced. Her mother was more than a powerful shifter. She was a witch. The Sea Witch. Able to destroy ships. If Leo and Rupert came here to do battle, would she destroy their ships? Would she drown all their soldiers?

Her mother had also cursed Gavin, making him unable to shift back into human form. Good goddesses, this sounded too familiar.

As Maeve watched Brody sleeping in the form of the Seer, tears gathered in her eyes. Apparently, he could impersonate the Seer or another human for hours. It was only his own form that he couldn’t hold for more than two hours.

Cursed by a witch. She’d heard in the past that the curse could only be lifted if he found the same witch who had originally cursed